


0526

by springboy (gyuldaengie)



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: 0526, LIKE SLOW SLOW, M/M, he’s slow, lots of loose ends bc i don’t have the motivation to write what happens next yet, mentions of yoon jeonghan, mingyu and wonwoo are boyfriends… or are they?, mingyu is whipped for wonwoo, soonyoung vs technology pt. 234567
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24718768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gyuldaengie/pseuds/springboy
Summary: wherein Wonwoo is an idol, Mingyu is his fan, and Soonyoung is their slow friend: this is the tale of Mingyu’s struggles over Wonwoo’s overpriced yet thoughtfully made 0526 shirtor alternatively…a retelling of my ‘definitely not healthy for my wallet’ experience ordering SVT’s 0526 shirt when it came out
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	0526

Life is meaningless without pleasure. If he wasn’t happy, then what was the point? Living life day by day just for the sake of getting by would be so dull and so uninspirational... Then again, how was he going to  _ live  _ if he just spent $31.50 on merch just because it had Wonwoo’s photographs heat-pressed on a teal-colored cotton shirt?

Mingyu was slowly but  _ surely _ spiralling out of his sanity and he is only /slightly/ regretting his impulsive decisions. He had never clicked anything so fast in his life and his phone, as if to mock him even more, now lay dead beside him, battery fully drained and stretched to the maximum just as Mingyu, finished ordering Wonwoo’s 0526 shirt on Weverse.

Minghao, who had been quietly tailoring his piece for his fashion class one room away, pokes his head inside Mingyu’s room and raises his brow at his friend’s dejected figure. “My ‘Mingyu did something stupid’ senses are tingling. What did you do?”

Mingyu groans and kicks his feet out, crumbling into a fetal position as he buries his face on his pillows. “I ordered Wonwoo’s 0526 shirt,” he mumbles, ashamed. “I didn’t even have time to think about it, I just pressed ‘Check-out’.”

Minghao doesn’t even try to hide his shock. “I thought they were sold out? How did you order them  _ again _ ?” With the measuring tape wrapped around his neck, pencil tucked behind one ear, and a hand to his hip, he was reminiscent of Mingyu’s mother when she would scold Mingyu for knocking things off the dining room table.

“I don’t know,” Mingyu howls. “The notification just popped up right as I was looking for my phone charger, and one moment I was reading through the announcement that they opened a second batch of pre-order and then I was inputting my card details the next. It happened  _ so  _ fast.”

Minghao sighs, running a hand down his face in exasperation. “Mingyu… we just  _ talked  _ about this. You just got your salary from working at the bank and you just bought his trading cards. How the  _ hell _ are you going to pay for your half of the rent now?”

Mingyu raises his head just a little. “It was only just $31.50.”

“ _ Just $31.50!? _ Mingyu… you know what, I’m not even surprised. It’s your money so do with it as you will. And since you haven’t not paid on time, I can’t say anything about it,” Minghao concedes, but he pierces Mingyu with a look that has the latter whining. “But I am  _ not  _ going to treat you to dinner when you come telling me you’re broke.”

Minghao leaves and Mingyu resumes his inner conflict: Life  _ is _ meaningless without pleasure… right?

  
  
  
  


**_two months after_ ** …

“I am  _ exhausted _ ,” Mingyu says, as he plops down on the couch and hits Minghao’s crotch in the process.

“ _ Aish, watch your head! _ ” Minghao yelps as he pushes Mingyu away, causing the latter to fall down on the floor of their shared living room. “That hurts, you dumbo.  _ God _ . What if I can’t make babies anymore? What the fuck am I going to do then?”

“What do you mean make babies?” Mingyu asks, aggressively stroking his bum which took the brunt of his fall. “You  _ aren’t  _ going to make babies. You’re in a relationship with Jun hyung.”

Minghao threw him a look that said “ _ Not _ the point” and then proceeded to clutch at his crotch, massaging his balls to ease the pain. “Why are you so early, anyway? Don’t you have baseball practice with Soonyoung hyung?”

“It ended early,” Mingyu explains, pulling himself up so that he can sit himself some  _ ways  _ away from Minghao who was throwing threats at him with his eyes. “He wanted to go out for drinks but I just finished my last exam for Professor Seo’s class. I’m  _ beat _ . I don’t think I want to come out of my room for the next ten days.”

Minghao nods, empathically. “Yeah, I took him last semester and I didn’t enjoy him one bit. He has like fifty plus powerpoint slides, ten documents and not a single one of them helps with the exam. What an  _ asshole _ .”

Mingyu hums, noncommittally, already beginning to drift into sleep as his body physically drains itself of energy.

“Oh, mail arrived by the way. I think your shirt came in, too.”

“Hm? What shirt?”

Minghao looks at him pointedly, and it takes approximately ten seconds for the news of Wonwoo’s shirt arrival to sink in. He stands up so fast his head begins spinning, and Minghao is only slightly shocked at his friend’s quiet outburst. 

“What?” Mingyu asks.

“I said, mail arrived today. There was a big box for you stamped with Choi Ent. all over. Not sure if that’s your shirt or something else, but I already placed it in your room,” Minghao repeats, dully, but Mingyu’s gone before he even finishes.

He throws open the door to his room and finds said box on his desk table, just where Minghao said it would be. The packaging tape glitters shiny under the living room light—the only light in the room thus far—and the words  _ Choi Ent. _ (printed on every side of the box) are screaming at Mingyu to open it up.

It wasn’t like Mingyu hadn't seen the design before, or didn’t know that he’d ordered Wonwoo’s 0526 shirt. But just the thought of opening something he’s waited for for at least two months now has him giddy with excitement. Plus, the photocards were probably in there, too.

Mingyu takes a cautious step towards his room and squeals.

  
  


Mingyu groans. “If you’re going to say something, just say it.”

Minghao puts down his fork and slowly chews on his kimbap. When he’s done, he wipes his lips with a napkin and puts his hands together. “I didn’t want to say anything about it, but… I  _ cannot _ believe that shirt costs $31.50.”

Mingyu rolls his eyes. “Well, you ain’t special. I didn’t think it would cost that much either, but… here we are.”

“You don’t even know what I mean,” Minghao says, trying to stifle his laughter in the midst of drinking water. “I just…  _ God _ , I hope you don’t hate me for this. But don’t you think that… Isn’t it  _ too much _ for $31.50?”

Mingyu frowns. “What do you mean? If anything, it’s  _ less  _ than what $31.50 should be worth.”

Minghao ends up laughing, and Mingyu ends up waiting for him to catch his breath before he could answer Mingyu’s question because he’s really,  _ really _ confused now. “I mean, no offense, Gyu, but this looks like something even my seven-year old niece can make,” he says, gesturing on Mingyu’s shirt. “On  _ Microsoft Paint. _ ”

Mingyu reddens and scoffs. “Hey, don’t say that! Wonwoo put  _ a lot _ of thought into this T-shirt! It has photographs he took from his World Tour and quotes he especially chose to match the theme of his debut anniversary!”

Mingyu sounded so indignant that Minghao tried  _ desperately  _ not to sound like he’s going to die if he laughs anymore; but, as a fashion student, the so-called shirt was just hurting his feelings and tickling his funny bones.

“I mean, I’m not saying that it isn’t a  _ good  _ shirt… Well,  _ no _ , that’s actually what I’m saying exactly,” Mingyu throws him a disgruntled look. “But I’m not trying to bad-mouth him or anything! In fact, I do think that his photographs are impeccable. They came out very well and even though it’s heat-pressed on a shirt, I could still feel the droplets of rain and hear New York taxi cabs honking from at least forty stories high. It’s just…”

Mingyu sighs, nodding at Minghao as he gesticulates his point. “The layout, I know. It probably isn’t how Wonwoo imagined the shirt to look like either but I obviously  _ didn’t  _ pay for the editor to do a splendid job collaging his photos… I paid for the fact thatー”

“ーit’s Wonwoo’s photos and Wonwoo’s merchandise, yes. I get it.” Minghao continues. He looks at Mingyu over his glass of water (which thankfully survived his laughing fit) and says, “I still don’t think it’s worth $31.50.”

Mingyu huffs but leaves it at that, poking at his kimbap sulkily.

“Hey, hey, why is the big baby pouting?” Soonyoung asks as he slides into the booth next to Mingyu, receipt in hand. “Sorry I’m late, I didn’t know how to work the machine on the counter. I kept pressing meals I didn’t wanna order, that the poor ahjumma had to come out from the kitchen and make sure I was actually planning to order  _ twenty _ dishes."

"She must have had a stroke just trying to cancel everything," Minghao laughs. “I still don’t understand how you were able to survive the last three years of college without knowing how to work technology-related stuff. How were you able to log-in the university website? Or access online modules?"

"My best friend is tech-savvy," Soonyoung replies cheekily. “But enough about me, what’s up with him? Why does he look like Aji tried to pee on his Econ homework?"

Minghao clicks his tongue at Mingyu who was tossing his food around his bowl. "I sort of insulted his shirt…"

Soonyoung frowns. "His shirt? What’s wrong with it?”

Minghao waves a hand away. “Nothing. I just thought it could be better, don’t you think?”

Mingyu throws him a pointed look. “You’re asking  _ him _ when he wears tiger-printed shirts like it’s a fashion statement?”

“What’s wrong with tiger-printed shirts?”

Minghao sighs. “You’re right. Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

“It’s okay, Gyu,” Soonyoung says, throwing an arm around his sullen friend. “I think the color of your shirt suits you. And the photos really match your vibe, don’t you think?  _ See the world through a lens! _ It definitely encapsulates your love for photography.”

“Thank  _ you _ !” Mingyu exclaims, feeling relieved that  _ someone _ finally has something good to say about his shirt.

Minghao snorts and rolls his eyes, taking a spoonful of his kimbap just as Mingyu began to pepper Soonyoung with friendly kisses as thanks. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Gyu.”

  
  
  


“You’re so slow.”

“Eh? What are you doing here?” Soonyoung asks, jogging up to his best friend’s car as it waits idly on the curb. He was on his way to Mingyu and Minghao’s shared dorm when a loud  _ honk! _ startled him into falling down the sidewalk.

Jihoon looks at him pointedly, back slumped in an “I can’t believe you” posture. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

Soonyoung frowns at him and it takes a solid three minutes before realization sets in. “ _ Oh my God! _ That isn’t today, is it? Shit,  _ shit _ , I told Mingyu I’d come over their place for beef stew. Ah, I’m so  _ fucked _ .”

Jihoon sighs, running a hand over his face in exasperation. “Well, now we know who isn’t going to get the best friend of the year award. Should I tell Wonwoo you’re not coming?”

Soonyoung shakes his head adamantly and opens the passenger door, sliding in beside Jihoon whilst taking his phone out his back pocket. “No, no. I’ll just call Mingyu and take a rain check.  _ Dammit _ . I almost forgot Wonwoo’s leaving for the second leg of his tour today.”

“What do you mean you almost forgot?” Jihoon snorts as he maneuvers the car out of his parking space. “You  _ did _ .”

“Minghao,” Soonyoung whines, latching onto the taller’s arm as he catches the boy walking to the FA department on his way to the locker rooms. “Please forgive me. I swear I didn’t mean to ditch you and Mingyu. My best friend was leaving the country and I promised I’d eat with him before he does. It was an  _ emergency _ .”

Minghao sighs and holds up a hand. “You said that already, hyung. Like  _ three _ times. How many more times do I have to tell you that we’re not mad? It was for your best friend and both Mingyu and I understand that, so.”

Soonyoung pouts and finally lets go of the other’s arm. “If you guys aren’t mad then why weren’t you both responding to my texts? Or calls? I would understand one night but one  _ week _ !? You’re holding a grudge, I just know it! Mingyu, especially!”

Minghao rolls his eyes and pokes at Soonyoung’s forehead, which was inching way  _ too  _ close to his face for comfort. “He’s not  _ Jeonghan _ hyung. He could be petty at times but he can’t stay mad at you if he ever was to begin with. He’s  _ Mingyu _ . He was just busy with papers and all. Plus, he’s doing me a favor for treating him dinner.”

Soonyoung’s eyebrows furrow. “Favor?”

Minghao nods, looking smug and satisfied with himself. “Yep! The poor boy’s broke.”

( _ “ _ What _.  _ in _.  _ the _.  _ hell _?” Minghao asks, flicking the lights on in their darkened dorm only to find Mingyu sprawled out on the kitchen floor. “Mingyu! Are you okay?” He drops to his knees and shakes his best friend only to receive a groan. “What the fuck? Where does it hurt? Should I call 911?” _

_ Mingyu tilts his head and looks up at him, eyes red and puffy. “Hao, I’m  _ starving _. I feel like I’m being eaten from the inside out. My stash of ramen’s gone. Someone ate them all, Hao!” he wailed. _

_ Minghao, whose panic has finally subsided and replaced with subtle irritation at being semi-fooled, clicks his tongue and leans back on his heels. “You’re the one who ate them all, idiot. You eat, what? Like five ramen packets a day? Of course it’d be gone.” _

_ The boy on the floor wails. “I’m  _ so  _ hungry. My tummy’s burning.” _

_ Minghao sighs. “Didn’t I tell you this would happen?” he asks, ruffling his best friend’s sweat-slicked hair and immediately regretting it. “You need to stop burning cash faster than you can earn it, okay?” _

_ Mingyu huffs. “I’m not  _ that  _ broke. I’m just hungry and have no energy or time to withdraw and buy myself a decent meal because I’m saving to pay rent.” _

_ “How is that not the same thing?” _

_ Mingyu whines. “Hao Hao, I’m  _ hungry _.” _

_ “You’re troublesome, you know that?” Minghao says, heaving himself up. He toes at Mingyu’s side to get the other to do the same but to no avail. “C’mon, Gyu, get up. You’re spreading sweat on the kitchen floor, didn’t you think to  _ change _ when you got home?” _

_ “How could I think, much less,  _ change _ when I’m  _ starving!? _ ” _

_ Minghao winces. “You’re not very cooperative when you’re hungry, are you?” Mingyu shakes his head in reply. “Well, I ordered chicken from the downstairs store and it should be delivered here soon. If you get your ass up from there and change, I  _ promise _ to share with you on one condition.  _ God, _ I can’t believe you’ve been wearing that shirt for  _ three _ days now!” _

_ Mingyu pathetically looks down at his T-shirt—Wonwoo’s 0526 shirt, that is—and scowls. “I’m trying to maximize its cost benefits, okay?” _ )

Soonyoung tilts his head, thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, didn't he just get his paycheck this month? How is he broke already? How many bills did he have to pay?"

Minghao pats Soonyoung on the back and leans in. "Don’t ask. You wouldn’t wanna know.”

Indeed, how do you tell someone your best friend’s impulsiveness in buying merch is going to get himself killed someday, draining his bank account faster than it can replenish itself, when you’re a candidate for ending him just as much because of how his occasional stupidity has caused you a never-ending migraine?

A shrug. "Oh, well. Since Mingyu’s broke, I'm gonna buy you and him dinner tomorrow night! As payment for unintentionally ditching you on beef stew day," Soonyoung says, and Minghao laughs just thinking about how Mingyu would probably end up crying at not having to eat ramen  _ again _ , having had enough of MSG to last him an entire lifetime. "In return, you will forgive me and not ignore my texts and calls anymore, okay?"

Minghao nods, smiling a little. "Sure, hyung. I’ll let Mingyu know. He’d be  _ excited _ ."

  
  
  


“You’re wearing that shirt,  _ again _ ?” Minghao asks as they all meet up at the university’s main gate.

Both Soonyoung and Mingyu stop walking to look down at their shirts, the latter’s neck, cheeks and ear flushing red when he realizes it’s not like he didn’t know what he was wearing.

“What do you mean, again?” Soonyoung asks, frowning. “I just ordered this from  _ Romantic Crown  _ two weeks ago. It’s brand new.”

Minghao shakes his head, stomping over to Mingyu and pointing at his definitely worn-out but seemingly well-maintained 0526 shirt. “I’m talking about him. Didn’t you just put this in the wash two nights ago? How come you’re wearing it again?”

Mingyu turns an even darker shade of red that it shows through his sun-kissed skin. “T-that’s precisely why I’m wearing it again,” he stutters, trying to defend himself. “I washed it two nights ago which means when I woke up this morning, it would have already dried. Hence, my outfit.”

Minghao only looks at him distastefully before marching away, muttering about poor fashion taste and " _ at least, dress it up with a jean jacket or something _ ", and urging the other two to follow mechanically. 

Soonyoung glances curiously at Mingyu. “You must really love that shirt,” he comments.

Mingyu chuckles nervously and fidgets with his shirt’s hem. “Yeah, it’s kinda... special.”

“Is that why you wear it so often? The guys in the team mentioned it before, but only as an observation! It wasn't a big deal or anything,” Soonyoung adds after seeing the horrified expression Mingyu sported once he’d heard that the members of the baseball team apparently had something to say about his choice of tops.

“It’s my boyfriend’s!” Mingyu blurts out, suddenly, and Soonyoung looks stumped, mouth forming an exaggerated "O".

Minghao, who was walking way ahead of them now, turns back towards them at the sudden noise. “What was that?”

“Nothing!” Mingyu shouts back in reply, internal panic creeping up his vocal chords.  _ Ah crap, why did I say that? _

When the news finally sunk in, Soonyoung grins brightly at Mingyu and claps him on the back. “Holy hell, Gyu! Since when? Why didn’t you tell us?”

Mingyu looks at Minghao’s back and hopes he’s too far away to hear any of this; he could just hear him tutting at him. Soonyoung takes this as a sign that Mingyu was worried about Minghao finding out and furrows his brows.

“You don’t want to tell Minghao?” Soonyoung asks.

“A-ah, it’s not like that, hyung,” Mingyu says, holding up a hand as if to stop any further misinterpretations. “Please don’t misunderstand. This isn’t really _ — _ ”

Soonyoung just nods his head enthusiastically. “You can trust me, I won’t tell a soul.”

“Hurry up, you two! I’m hungry!”

  
  
  


" _ Thank God! _ I thought you would  _ never _ arrive," Minghao grumbles, pulling a fresh-out-of-the-shower Mingyu into the dressing room before the latter could even deposit his sports bag somewhere. "How many times did I tell you  _ not  _ to be late—Gyu, are you crying?"

Mingyu's eyes are red and puffy, and Soonyoung, who Minghao didn't even notice was also present, smiles sheepishly, probably at having intruded the FA department's backstage.

"Why is he crying?" Minghao asks, pulling his taller friend closer so he can rub his back, panic and urgency momentarily taking a backseat on his mind. His eyes are fiery when he adds, "Who hurt him?"

Soonyoung shakes his head. "No one did. He… he lost his favorite shirt."

It doesn't take long for Minghao to realize what Mingyu's favorite shirt is. Worn day in, day out, sometimes even two days straight, spending only at least a couple of hours in the washer and the dryer, it had to be Wonwoo's $31.50 0526 shirt.

Minghao nods at Soonyoung and the latter bids his goodbye. "Be kind to him," Soonyoung pleads. "I know you hate that shirt 'cause he always wears it but it's special. He was really...  _ devastated _ ."

Minghao nods and waves at Soonyoung as he leaves. Of course, he knows just how special it is. He’s witness to Mingyu’s hard work, earning every penny he invests on the merchandise that he buys. He  _ dislikes _ Wonwoo’s shirt, yes, but his best friend  _ loves  _ it, and that’s enough for him to treasure it too. "Are you okay? Did you look through your stuff before leaving training? You might've just misplaced it."

Mingyu sniffs. "I didn't. I looked for it everywhere with Soonyoung hyung. Some of the boys in the baseball team also helped but it wasn't in the locker room, either. I'm sorry I'm late."

Minghao tilts Mingyu's head up and wipes his tears. "It's okay. I know how much that shirt means to you. We'll look for it later, okay?"

Mingyu nods and moves away from Minghao's embrace. " _ God, _ I had to borrow a shirt from Soonyoung hyung. His shirts are  _ so _ small."

Minghao snorts, as he pries Soonyoung's  _ bad in bad _ T-shirt away from his person. "You're  _ gigantic _ . That's  _ why _ it fits so small."

  
  
  


"Yah, who are you texting?" Jihoon asks, gesturing at Soonyoung who, since they met up for dinner that night, had his head buried on his phone.

Wonwoo’s come back to Korea for the year-end award shows and they were supposed to be celebrating the success of the second leg of his tour. Lo and behold, Soonyoung has yet to actually talk to any of his best friends, busy as he was texting…  _ whoever _ it was.

Wonwoo snickers. "Why? Jealous?"

Jihoon scoffs, indignified. "As if," he denies, childishly stealing a radish from Wonwoo's plate. "I'm just saying that he's been paying more attention to that person than he has been to us and  _ we  _ invited him out. We could leave him here, right now, to pay for all of this and he wouldn't even notice."

"Yes," Wonwoo agrees, smirking. "Except you already paid the bill in full when we arrived."

Jihoon sighs at the same time Soonyoung finally looks up from his phone and sets it down, mustering a smile for his two best friends. Before he's able to say anything, however, Jihoon beats him to it. "Done talking with your boyfriend yet?"

Soonyoung frowns. "Who has a boyfriend?"

Wonwoo nods at him. "You. You've been texting him all evening rather than pay attention to Jihoon. He was getting really jealous."

Jihoon flushes an angry red. "I was not!"

And Soonyoung, well, Wonwoo is sure he was blushing too.

"That was Minghao," Soonyoung explains. "He's just updating me about a friend."

Wonwoo raises a teasing brow. "And is this friend your potential boyfriend?"

Soonyoung looks mildly aghast at the suggestion but that doesn't hinder him from stuffing his face with kimchi he’s neglected in favor of replying to Minghao. "Me? No. He has a boyfriend! He's just been sad the past couple of days because he lost something really special to him. Which was given to him by  _ his _ boyfriend, mind you."

Jihoon, who was the least empathic (and yet is able to write countless songs centered around human emotions), seems to nod understandingly; relief a little too obvious in the eyes of everyone else  _ but _ Soonyoung is evident on his face, too. "Is that why you're concerned about that person?"

Soonyoung hums. "Yeah. That friend smiles a lot and is a big ball of puppy energy. It's weird when he's not that person, so we've been trying to cheer him up."

Wonwoo props his head on his hand. "So why is he sad?"

"He lost his boyfriend's shirt," Soonyoung says simply, mouth full and bursting in the seams, galbi sauce leaking out on the corners of his mouth. "He wears it all the time. Minghao  _ hates _ it, but I think it's really cool." 

"Speaking of shirts," Jihoon says when he's thrown a piece of tissue towards Soonyoung's direction and ensured that the latter doesn't look like a vampire who recently fed. "The last batch of Wonwoo's 0526 shirts are finally shipped out from production, right? I heard there were more than a million shirts produced."

Wonwoo suddenly shrinks on his seat, the sudden shift of attention onto him embarrassing. "A-ah, yes. But the actual sales are probably lower. The company just thought, with the recent spike of fans, that I might be able to sell more than I did the year before."

"What's a 0526 shirt?" Soonyoung asks, with his mouth full.

Jihoon rolls his eyes. “You really call yourself a best friend in that state? I bet you don't even know that he’s an artist of the year nominee? Or that his recent album is a candidate for winning album of the year?”

“I’m not  _ that  _ bad!” Soonyoung scowls, defensively. “I know about those things! I vote and stream his songs, you know.”

“Uh-huh, so how come you don’t know what a 0526 shirt is? Wonwoo’s wearing one right now!” Jihoon says, gesturing to Wonwoo’s teal-colored shirt. And, as though an afterthought, adds, “Which I must admit is quite narcissistic of you.”

Wonwoo snorts. “Be thankful none of the pictures I included had my face in it. The creative director noona wanted to place the behind the scene concept photo Bumzu hyung took for my recent album, front and center. I was  _ horrified _ .”

Jihoon smirks. “Seen enough of your face on billboards to want them on your shirts, I take it?”

“Very.”

Soonyoung watches the two banter, without understanding anything; just enthusiastically munching on his galbi which he had been craving since days before. His gaze drops on Wonwoo’s supposed “0526” shirt.  _ See the world through a lens. _ “Your shirt’s really cool, Won,” he says.

  
  
  


**_ten days before christmas..._ **

Soonyoung is  _ finally _ sitting inside his Uber on his way to Jihoon’s apartment for their mandatory Boys’ Night Out. It had been a long day and he had felt so out of it for the most part that he was sure he would’ve forgotten about his plan with his friends had Jihoon not called to tell him to bring drinks.

There was a nagging thought at the back of his head, telling him that he was missing something. But what it was, he wasn’t entirely sure. Only that it had something to do with a conversation he had with Mingyu some weeks ago.

( _ “Any luck with the shirt yet?” Soonyoung asks Mingyu when he spots him on his way to the baseball locker rooms. _

_ “Nope,” Mingyu answers, smile falling away at the reminder that his 0526 shirt is still lost. “Minghao and I cleaned my entire wardrobe, even  _ his _ , but to no avail.” _

_ Soonyoung bites his lip. “Have you told your boyfriend?” _

_ Mingyu doesn’t answer for a long time, confused as to what Soonyoung could have meant. When he realizes he’s referring to that one time he’d told the latter his 0526 shirt was his boyfriend’s shirt, he tries not to flush too much. “U-uh, no, I haven’t. We haven’t seen each other in a long time. He’s busy.” _

_ Soonyoung nods. “I’m sure he’ll understand if you tell him, Gyu. He’s your boyfriend. He won’t break up with you over a shirt.” _ )

_ What is it about that conversation that won’t put me to rest? _

Indeed, it had been disorienting not to see Mingyu in his usual teal-coloured shirt. But so what? He’s seen the boy wear other things: his baseball training gear, his corgi pyjamas, the university’s standard business attire… What is it that irks him about the boy’s outfit so bad?

Soonyoung’s phone rings and the caller ID reads  _ ‘Wonu _ ’.

_ Wonwoo… _

(See the world through a lens.  _ “Your shirt’s really cool, Won,” he says. _ )

_ Holy sh _ — _ Wonwoo! _

That night, when they’d gone out to eat korean barbecue to celebrate Wonwoo’s return from the North American leg of his tour, his best friend had been wearing a teal-coloured shirt. The  _ same _ teal-coloured shirt that Mingyu had been wearing for months on end when the semester started; the  _ same _ teal-coloured shirt Minghao had shown his utter contempt to; the  _ same _ teal-coloured shirt that Mingyu thought he’d lost and had been so sad over, for weeks and weeks. 

( _“It’s my boyfriend’s!”_ _Mingyu blurts out_.)

_ Boyfriend. He’s his _ — _ Oh my God. They’re together. They’re  _ together. _ Him and Wonwoo. They’re boyfriends.  _ Boyfriends. _ Holy shit,  _ what? How did he  _ not _ notice this before?

Soonyoung’s phone stops ringing for only a moment before it rings again, Wonwoo’s nickname flashing bold on his screen. He doesn’t hesitate to pick it up this time. “Wonwoo! You’re Mingyu’s boyfriend!?”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i actually don't know whether this counts as a fic or not bc it's definitely not conventional (i even opt not to include "fluff" in the tags bc i'm not sure there is,,, any???) but i wanted to share it anyway bc the prompt was just too funny not to
> 
> the summary speaks for itself when i say i'm self-projecting on mingyu (some of the convos mingyu's had with minghao, i really actually did have with my friend) but sadly enough, i don't have a wonwoo who will later fall in love with me after soonyoung finally introduces us to each other,,,, or not ???? :--))))
> 
> i have so many things planned out for the both of them in this fic but they're yet to materialize so for now, i hoped you enjoyed reading where they started,,, unless???


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